Kazakhstan’s vegetable oil exports rise 46%
Kazakhstan has sharply increased production of vegetable oil while simultaneously boosting exports. However, analysts at EnergyProm note that the rise in output has not yet led to lower consumer prices, Qazinform News Agency reports.
From January to July 2026, production of refined and unrefined vegetable oil reached 673,200 tons, up 29.1% year-on-year. Over the past decade, output has quadrupled.
Annual growth has accelerated with 389,900 tons produced in 2023, 427,400 tons in 2024, and 521,300 tons in 2025.
Unrefined sunflower oil output reached 473,100 tons, 29.4% up, while refined sunflower oil made 104,800 tons, 13.5% up.
Together, sunflower oil accounted for 85.8% of total production.
Refined rapeseed oil saw the sharpest increase up to 96.2% to 60,200 tons.
Soybean oil fell 9.2% to 7,900 tons, cottonseed oil dropped 29.7% to 3,300 tons.
In 2025, Kazakhstan harvested a record 4.9 million tons of oilseeds. In 2026, sowing expanded to 5.2 million hectares, 30% up year-on-year.
Sunflower planting reached a record 2.2 million hectares, up 25% in a year and 2.3 times higher than in 2021.
In January–June 2026, exports hit 560,600 tons, up 46.2% year-on-year.
Domestic sales fell 24.5% to 121,100 tons.
Sunflower oil exports alone rose 41.2% to 481,000 tons, while domestic sales dropped 28% to 83,900 tons.
In 2025, Kazakhstan ranked sixth globally in sunflower oil exports and the second-largest supplier of sunflower oil to China.
In January–June 2026, sunflower oil exports totaled 533 million US dollars.
Despite record output and exports, domestic prices continue to rise. In August 2026, prices were 7.7% higher year-on-year, while last August prices surged 30%. Overall, prices rose 4.9% since the start of the year.
By the end of 2025, Kazakhstan ranked sixth in the world for sunflower oil exports and took the second position among suppliers to the Chinese market. Kazakhstan’s oil and fat products are now exported to more than 20 countries.
In the first half of 2026, Kazakhstan’s sunflower oil exports reached 533 million US dollars in value.
